Saint-Exupery, Antione de. The Little Prince, 75th Anniversary Edition. Translated by Richard Howard. Editions Gallimard, 2018.
Reason read: July is considered Children’s Book Month.
The preface to this review is that I somehow picked up the 75th anniversary edition of The Little Prince. In addition to reading a cute short story designed for children of all ages, I am reviewing the history, making, and perceptions of the classic tale. It includes Saint Exupery’s biography, tons of beautiful photographs, and fourteen appreciation essays. Really cool. The story of The Little Prince starts with a downed aviator (probaly Saint-Exupery himself), trying to fix his plane. He encounters a young boy, “the Little Prince” who asks him to draw him a picture. From there, the story blooms into a tale about a child’s relationship with adult realities. The child ends up being more mature than the adults he encounters. Grownups always need explanations.
As an aside, it brought a shiver to my spine when the Little Pricne asked the pilot if he fell out of the sky for that is how Saint-Exupery died.
Quotes I liked, “One must command from each what each can perform” (p 111) and”You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed” (p 153). This last line reminds me of Natalie Merchant’s line, “To pick a pick a rose you ask your hands to bleed.”
Author fact: to look at Saint-Exupery is to hear a French accent. His face is oh so France.
Book trivia: the French version of The Little Prince was translated by Vali Tamm and published in April 1946, two years after Saint-Exupery’s death. The 75th anniversary edition was supposed to have a free audio download, but the url didn’t work. I found another version (or maybe it’s the same one) on YouTube for the 70th anniversary.
Nancy said: Pearl said Saint-Exupery is best known for The Little Prince.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Flying Above the Clouds” (p 89). In theory, The little Prince should not have been included in this chapter unless you call living on a tiny planet flying high above the clouds…
~*LunaSea*~ 